My Favorite Book Ever

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE BOOK?

Today, I’d like to answer one of the questions I get most often when I visit schools.

I just got back from the Virginia Children's Book Festival, where I spent time with lots of students and parents. Look at this poster that was all over town.

At the event, I got to catch up with one of my favorite authors humans on this planet, Daniel Nayeri. I could spend three newsletters gushing about Daniel. Instead, I’ll quickly mention that way before he received the Newbery Honor or the National Book Award, he was my editor at Workman Publishing, where we made DOODLE ADVENTURES. Now he’s a good friend, and he's as happy as I am to talk about comics, kids' books, and story structure.

One of the questions that I was asked at the event was the classic,

What is your favorite book?

I usually follow up with a clarifying question. I’ll ask if they mean what my favorite book that I’ve read is, or what my favorite book that I’ve worked on is. I’m generally surprised that they typically want to know my favorite book that I’ve made.

For years, like with many questions I’ve been asked, I've pieced together an answer in front of the students. Early in my career, when a student raised their hand and asked where my ideas come from, I'd joke that I have a very special cat that slides me little slips of paper each morning with book ideas written on them. I would choose some to use; others would be too silly. It wasn’t until much later that I really sat and thought about the question. I mean, where DO ideas come from? It seemed like such a big, unwieldy topic. And who was I to even answer it? (I later realized this last bit was imposter syndrome creeping in.)

I started answering the question more thoughtfully. I talked about my process, and it led to incredible conversations with students about creativity and writing.

MY OLD ANSWER TO THE QUESTION.

So, for a long time, when asked about my favorite project, I would discuss some of my favorite books that I’ve worked on over the years. I would say how hard it is to pick a favorite.

I would talk about that Doodle Adventure series and how I loved it because I drew a grumpy duck named Carl, who was always slightly annoyed with the reader. That series mattered to me because it helped me figure out how to add story elements to my funny drawings. I became an Author (with a capital “A”) with that series.

I would then talk about how drawing weird facts every morning for 11 years led to creating RANDOM ILLUSTRATED FACTS. That book combined all of my favorite things into one project. Things like handlettering, weird-but-true information, drawing, sketchbooking. All of it. That series also kicked off a years-long career path of me drawing nonfiction topics in a fun, playful way. It led to my series with Scholastic, EVERYTHING AWESOME. Each book took a year or so of research, writing, and drawing. 

Here, I would segue into how I loved those books, but they were also a lot of serious work. After I turned in each manuscript, a scientist reviewed all the facts about space, sharks, and dinosaurs and gave me feedback on how accurate everything was.

So, the next series I pitched to my editor was a graphic novel series called Bug Scouts. It started as a doodle of a grumpy spider in my sketchbook and grew into a full story about three friends who go camping and do all the other fun stuff scouts do.

I’ve done books with Mac B and Jeopardy Champ, Ken Jennings. I've worked with Drew Daywalt for the past few years working on this incredible series, NO SAM!  (book three came out this week!!)

I’ve had the extreme pleasure of working on more than 100 books for kids! I will often spend months, if not years, with these characters and stories. How could I pick just one!?

Plus, something never felt quite right about the answer. What was missing?

MY NEW ANSWER.

A few months ago, I was in Dallas and Fort Worth, TX, for a Texas Book Festival event, and I got to sit in on a school visit by Adrianna Cuevas. Whenever I get the chance, I love to watch other authors talk about their books; Adrianna’s was great. She told lots of stories, and the students and I were fully engaged. At the end of the talk, the kids asked some great questions, including the go-to, “What’s your favorite book that you’ve made?” 

Adrianna started with a list of a few favorites, then leaned in as if to confide a secret. She said she liked all of those books, but her absolute favorite book is always the one she’s currently working on. She went on to explain that all authors would probably say that because whatever they're working on is the culmination of what they’ve learned from previous books. Did she say the word "culmination" to those third graders? I don’t remember, actually. You get the idea.

I loved that response. It’s such a clear and accurate way of describing working on books. Yes! I love those old projects. They were so important (some of them changed my life!) and fun, BUT! The new one still has that fresh excitement! 

Wait, so does that mean the book I’m working on right now is my favorite book I’ve made?

yes.

A few years ago, I had an idea for a character that was a few things smashed together. 

The story goes like this. There’s a boy named Max who can’t decide what to wish for on his birthday. It’s time to blow out the candles; everyone is watching, but he has pieces of wishes floating around in his head. Everyone counts down and…woosh! He blows out the candles.

At first, nothing happens. But later that night, his wish comes true, and it’s a new friend that is made up of all of his pieces of wishes smooshed together to form…

UNICORNDOG.

Part unicorn. Part dog. (possibly part corndog!?)

Why is this my favorite project?

In that Doodle Adventure series, I learned how to structure stories better. In Everything Awesome, I drew tons of fun creatures with funny expressions. In Bug Scouts, I built a full world of characters. 

UNICORNDOG puts all of these things I’ve learned together. I still laugh out loud all the time while drawing this character. I mean, look at that face!

The books come out in January! 

Preorder them here.

So next time a kid asks for my favorite book,, I’ll say UNICORNDOG, but I’m sure I’ll nod to all the books I’ve made along the way.